CHUGGING FORWARD
San Miguel Beer saw the win over Barangay Ginebra in Dubai as a huge shot in the arm after its defense of the PBA Philippine Cup gasped through a slow start.
But with bigger games ahead, including Sunday’s contest against the upstart Converge FiberXers, the Beermen know that they must continue building on the newfound momentum.
“The last two games were very important for us because they could [lead to] a lot of good things,” Beermen coach Leo Austria said, also noting the breakthrough win they had against the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters before the Middle East sojourn.
To continue their streak, the Beermen will now try to hurdle Converge in a 5 p.m. duel slated on Sunday—a stern test against a team that will seek to remain in the upper echelon of the standings.
Converge has made its intentions of being a legitimate contender known with three wins in four games to begin the all-Filipino tournament, anchored by two triple-doubles and one double-double from rookie guard Juan Gomez de Liaño.
In a tuneup game before the start of the season, the FiberXers defeated the Beermen, 114-99, with Gomez de Liaño leading the way. But both teams were going through the motions then, given that it was a friendly to test out each club’s preparations and that San Miguel Beer hardly fielded nine-time MVP June Mar Fajardo in the second half.
The Sunday duel at Ynares Center in Antipolo, however, will count for something.
“That’s why I always tell them that this is the time to step up,” said Austria.
The Beermen are expected to miss Jericho Cruz once more due to his hamstring injury that sidelined him during the previous Sunday’s 83-81 triumph over the Gin Kings in Dubai.
Ginebra tries to redeem itself from that setback in the nightcap at 7:30 p.m. against NLEx, which aims to end the week with the solo lead at 5-1.
The Gin Kings are at 1-3 for their worst start since the 2018 Commissioner’s Cup, the same conference that they went on to win, something that could keep optimism afloat for coach Tim Cone and his squad.
But they have to rely more on just history to get back on track, especially when facing a Road Warriors team that’s been terrific in the early goings.
NLEx has been led by Kevin Alas and JB Bahio up until this point of the eliminations, and they spearhead a solid crew that also includes stats monster Robert Bolick, Jonnel Policarpio and Brandon Ramirez.
